I'll Be Here
by Fae'sFlower
Summary: Fiyero and Elphaba are living happily with their daughter in their little cottage on the outskirts of Oz. When Glinda accidently discovers that her best friends are still alive, trouble soon follows. Trouble seems to follow Elphaba everywhere, or is it just her middle name? Warning: Major character death.
1. Chapter 1

_"It's time to go."_

_"We can never come back to Oz, can we?"_

_"No."_

_"I only wish…"_

_"What?"_

_"That Glinda could know that we're alive."_

_"She can't know. Not if we want to stay safe. No one can ever know. Come."_

That was two years ago. Elphaba Melena Thropp Tigulaar was sitting on her bed, waiting for Fiyero to come home from finding food. The couple had been lucky enough to run into some Animals in Birnam wood, just on the outskirts of Oz. They had helped them build a small cottage to live in and continued to help them with whatever else they needed. She placed her hand over her abdomen, smiling as she felt a flicker of life against her fingertips. Fiyero should be home any second, then she would tell him.

"Fae?" she heard Fiyero voice from downstairs.

Smiling, Elphaba regally rose to her full height and gracefully descended the stairs. She smiled when she saw her husband standing in the center of their living room. She ran towards him and quickly wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "You're home."

"I missed you, too, Fae," Fiyero smiled, kissing the top of her head.

Elphaba smiled as she leaned her head against Fiyero's chest, listening to his heartbeat. Oh, how she missed the sound of her heartbeat.

_"Fae?" Fiyero whispered. They had been living in the small cottage in the Birnam wood for a few months now, and even though Elphaba constantly said she was happy, Fiyero knew she was lying. "Fae?"_

_Elphaba kept her gaze locked on whatever she was looking at through their bedroom window. She stiffened, but didn't turn around, when she felt Fiyero's cloth hand on her shoulder. The straw sticking out from under his glove tickled her skin, causing the green girl to bite down on her lip to stop herself from crying._

_"Fae, please talk to me," Fiyero pleaded._

_"I'm sorry," was all Elphaba said._

_"Sorry about what?" Fiyero whispered, pulling Elphaba closer to him._

_Elphaba leaned her head against Fiyero's chest, only to be greeted with silence. "For taking away your life."_

_"Fae, you didn't take away my life. You tried to save my life," Fiyero tried to reassure her._

_"Yero, you're a scarecrow and it's all my fault," Elphaba sobbed. "You can't eat, sleep, feel… anything anymore and it's all my fault."_

_"Elphaba, look at me," Fiyero said, lifting Elphaba's chin so he looked into her eyes. "Nothing is your fault. You need to stop thinking that."_

_"If I hadn't stolen you away from Glinda, if you hadn't fallen in love with me…"_

_"Elphaba," Fiyero whispered, hugging her even closer._

_"If I was never born…"_

_"Fae, stop! Don't think like that."_

_"Please let me try again."_

_Fiyero sighed. Elphaba had tried multiple times to turn him back into a human. All of those attempts were fruitless._

_"Fae…"  
"Please," Elphaba begged, looking into Fiyero's eyes. "Please let me try again."_

_"We've tried this multiple times, Fae," Fiyero said, gently squeezing her hands. He was about to continue when he saw the pain in Elphaba's eyes. She wanted this so much for him. She didn't want to see him live the rest of his life as a scarecrow. "Okay."_

_Elphaba smiled as Fiyero led her up to their bedroom. He sat down on the bed as Elphaba grabbed the page she tore out from the Grimmerie before she gave it to Glinda. It had the spell she used to turn Fiyero into a scarecrow on it. Fiyero watched in silence as Elphaba made her way back to him, hope shimmering in her beautiful, chocolate eyes._

_"This may hurt a little bit," she warned Fiyero as she unfolded the paper. She opened her mouth to start chanting, but Fiyero cut her off._

_"Fae," he said. "Just in case this doesn't work…"_

_"It will work," Elphaba said._

_"But…"_

_"It will work."_

_"Fae…"_

_"It. Will. Work."_

_Fiyero shut his mouth and allowed Elphaba to start chanting. Elphaba looked down at the folded piece of paper in her hands. She had tried chanting this spell many different ways, all of them fruitless. She tried to think of another way to chant the spell._

Maybe if I pronounce the words backwards, the spell will do the opposite of what it did before,_ Elphaba thought. Deciding that that's what she was going to try, she began chanting._

_"Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan. Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan," she chanted._

_Nothing happened. Fiyero looked down and saw that he was still made of straw. Growling, Elphaba continued to chant._

_"Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan. Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan."_

_"Fae," Fiyero whispered, trying to stop his wife. "You'll exhaust yourself."_

_Ignoring her husband, Elphaba's voice grew in desperation as she continued to chant the spell._

_"Fae," Fiyero said sternly, grabbing onto Elphaba's shoulders. "Stop! Before you hurt yourself!"_

_"Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan. Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela –" Elphaba stopped. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed onto the floor._

_"FAE!" Fiyero shouted, crumbling to the floor beside his wife. "Fae? Please wake up. Please! I can't lose you. Not now, not ever!"_

_Elphaba's body remained limp and motionless. "Fae? Please open your eyes. Please!"_

_Moaning, Elphaba's chocolate eyes slowly fluttered open. Blinking to clear her vision, she saw that Fiyero was still a scarecrow._

_"No," she whispered, closing her eyes in defeat._

_"Come, that's enough trying for today," Fiyero said gently, hugging her close._

_"No," Elphaba cried, pushing herself out of Fiyero's arms and grabbing the paper again._

_"Fae, stop!" Fiyero said, trying to grab the paper from her. "You'll seriously hurt yourself!"_

_"I can't stop trying, Yero," Elphaba said, looking down at the paper._

_"Yes, you can! You just fainted, for Oz sakes! You need to stop!"_

_"No!" Elphaba cried stubbornly as she began to chant again. "Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan. Akele Nemhan Nemhan Ha Mut Ha Mut Akela Nemhan." Elphaba chanted faster and faster, her words becoming slurred together._

_"F-" Fiyero stopped when he saw green mist swirling around him. He felt his body being slowly lifted into the air. Elphaba stopped chanting and shielded her eyes from the blinding light. Fiyero cried out in pain. He felt as if someone were running him over with a carriage, backing up, running him over again, and then tearing him to shreds. When the light died down, Elphaba looked up and saw Fiyero lying on the bed._

_"Yero?" she gasped when she saw what the spell had done._

_Fiyero slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Elphaba._

_"Yero… you're… you're…" Elphaba whispered._

_Fiyero looked down at his hands and gasped. He no longer saw cloth. He saw flesh. Human flesh. He lifted his hand to his head and ran his fingers through hair, not straw. He looked up as Elphaba jumped into his arms and kissed him deeply._

_"Fae," Fiyero whispered, smiling as he stroked his wife's cheek. "You did it."_

_"Yero my hero," Elphaba muttered as she closed her eyes and leaned against Fiyero's chest, listening to his heart beat for what seemed like the first time in forever. Fiyero pulled her in for another kiss. Sighing, she quickly melted into it. Oz, it felt good to kiss him again._

"Fiyero, I have something to tell you," Elphaba said as she ate some of the berries Fiyero had picked.

"Yes, Fae?" Fiyero asked, looking up at his wife.

"I'm… I'm…"

"Fae?"

"I'm pregnant, Yero."

Time stopped for Fiyero. Had… had he heard his wife correctly? They were expecting a baby?

Elphaba looked at Fiyero. She couldn't read his expression, which scared her. Was he not happy?

"Yero?" Elphaba whispered.

Fiyero quickly snapped out of his trance and smiled. "Fae, this is wonderful news!" He jumped up and pulled Elphaba to her feet. He spun her around in the air before returning her feet to the floor and placing a hand on her flat stomach. "How far along are you?"

"About eight weeks. I went to Francine a few weeks ago and she told me."

Fiyero's smile grew. He couldn't believe that they would soon have a little Elphaba or little Fiyero running around the cottage. He pulled Elphaba in for a kiss. He heard Elphaba softly moan as their kiss deepened. A knock at the door interrupted them. Blinking, Fiyero slowly pulled away and ran to answer the door.

"Oh, hello, Francine," Fiyero smiled, allowing the Fox to enter their home.

"Hello, Fiyero. Hello, Elphaba," Francine smiled, walking inside. "Did you tell him?" she asked the emerald witch.

Elphaba nodded. "I did."

"Good," Francine smiled. "I came here to give you this." She handed Elphaba a medium sized bottle filled with a mysterious purple liquid.

"What is it?" Elphaba asked.

"It's a special drink that helps with the baby," Francine explained.

"Oh. What's in it?"

"Red raspberry leaves, peppermint leaves, ginger roots, and nettle leaves. It's perfectly safe for both you and the baby."

Nodding, Elphaba looked back at the bottle. "And… it doesn't contain any milkflowers?"

"No. Why?"

"No reason," Elphaba whispered, not wanting to go into the whole story on how her mother chewed milkflowers when she was pregnant with Nessarose.

"Alright, dear. Good luck," Francine smiled as she walked out.

**Seven Months Later…**

Elphaba was sitting on the couch next to Fiyero, her head leaning against his chest. Her eyes closed and she smiled as she felt Fiyero tenderly stroke her hair and kiss her forehead. She suddenly shot up when she felt something wet sliding down her legs.

"Um… Yero?" Elphaba whispered.

Fiyero turned. "Are you alright, Fae?"

Elphaba didn't have time to answer before the first contraction ripped through her body. "G-Go get F-Francine," Elphaba whispered, taking deep breaths.

Fiyero jumped up and returned with the Fox a few minutes later. They both helped Elphaba up the stairs to the bedroom.

"Yero," Elphaba whispered, biting down hard on her lip.

"I'm right here, Fae," Fiyero said soothingly, gently squeezing her hand as another contraction rippled through her body.

"It's alright, Elphaba. On the count of three… push. One… two… three… PUSH!" the Fox said, grabbing the towels.

Elphaba pushed with all her strength… and screamed with it, too.

"You're almost there, Fae," Fiyero encouraged.

"I swear, Yero. When this is over, I'm going to kill you," Elphaba hissed, sweat glistening across her forehead.

"Love you, too, Fae," Fiyero smiled, delicately kissing her nose.

"I can see the head. Keep pushing!" Francine encouraged from the foot of the bed.

"ARG!" Elphaba groaned as she pushed.

"Why is this taking so long?" Fiyero asked frantically.

"How long did you think it took to have a baby?" Francine asked incredulously.

"I don't know! Not this long!"

"Just keep quiet and help Elphaba with her breathing!"

A loud cry filled the room a minutes later. Elphaba slumped back against the pillows, exhausted.

Francine wrapped the newborn baby in a blanket and handed the bundle to Elphaba. "It's a girl."

Elphaba looked down at the little baby in her arms. "She's beautiful."

"She's perfect," Fiyero smiled, kissing his wife's nose. "What do you want to name her?"

"Lilliana. It was my great-grandmother's name," Elphaba said, smiling softly.

"It's beautiful," Fiyero smiled.

* * *

As the years past, Elphaba continued to try and help the Animals. She couldn't do much, considering the fact that she was supposed to be dead, which really annoyed her.

"Really, Miss Elphaba, we appreciate everything you're doing to help us, but you must be careful," a Boar, Ritty, said.

"I know, Ritty. I will," Elphaba smiled.

"It's been a long day. You should get back to your husband… and daughter," Francine smiled.

Smiling, Elphaba said goodbye to everyone and walked home. As soon as she walked in through the front door, she was greeted with the familiar sound of wheels.

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" a voice happily called. Elphaba looked down and smiled, seeing Lilli run up to her, her shoulder-length black hair in pigtails. She knelt down as Lilli neared and wrapped her in a gentle hug.

"Hi, sweetie," Elphaba smiled, kissing the six year old's cheek.

"I missed you," Lilli whispered, snuggling closer to her mother.

"I missed you, too," Elphaba smiled, lifting Lilli into her arms. "Did you and Papa have fun today?"

Lilli nodded and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. Elphaba smiled as she saw Fiyero making dinner. "Yero?"

"Hi, Fae," Fiyero smiled, looking up. He walked up to Elphaba and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "How was your day?"

"Nice. Tiring, but nice."

Fiyero gave her another kiss. "Does that make it better?"

"Yes," Elphaba giggled.

"Good, because dinner's ready."

"You cooked? And you didn't burn the house down?"

"Yes and yes. I wanted to surprise you."

"I love it, thank you," Elphaba smiled, helping Lilli into her seat.

After they ate, Lilli went to her room to play with her dolls. Elphaba went to the window and looked outside. After clearing the table, Fiyero followed her and sighed. "Fae."

Elphaba turned around and tucked strands of her raven hair behind her ear. "H-Hi."

Fiyero directed his gaze to where Elphaba was looking. If he squinted, he could make out the top dome of the Emerald City Palace. "I know you miss Glinda," he said soothingly, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her. "But trust me, it was for the best."

"I know. I just… she was the only friend I've ever had."

Fiyero wrapped Elphaba in a gentle hug and kissed her forehead. "I miss her, too, Fae."

"Will we ever see her again?"

"I don't know," Fiyero whispered. "I really don't know."

* * *

**I have decided to stay true to myself and pull a "Nia", since you guys love them so much. The "Nia" is… where did I get the name of the forest (Birnam)? You guys know how it works, but for all my new readers: You have to be the first person, via review, to guess the reference correctly. If you win, I will write you and special one-shot with the prompt of your choice.**

**Also, (Bonus "Nia") what story did I get one of the lines in this chapter from and what is the line? (Hint: It's one of my other stories)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yes, yes, I know. It's been forever. But I'm back. This story is going to be short. Just sayin'. You all had really good ideas for the two 'Nias'. The name of the forest (Birnam) comes from ****_Macbeth_**** by William Shakespeare. Congrats to ****I'mWickedThroughAndThrough**** for guessing correctly. And nobody, though your guesses were really good, got the bonus Nia. The line was 'Elphaba pushed with all her strength and screamed with it, too.' from ****_'Seeing the Light'_**** (Chapter 36). Congrats to I'mWickedThroughAndThrough and don't forget to send me your one-shot prompt for the "Nia".**

* * *

Glinda the Good looked out over her balcony. She sighed, watching the sun cast shades of orange and pink across the horizon line. It was the seventh anniversary of the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. Glinda put on a fake smile and paraded in the streets and gave speeches all day. She was alone in her room when she finally allowed her tears to come.

"Oh, Elphie," she sobbed, running to her closet and reaching for something in the back corner. She pulled out a pointed, black witch hat. The same hat she gave to Elphaba as a joke all those years ago. She could remember that night clearly, how her granny had sent her that hat, how her idea of getting rid of it was to give it to the green girl as a joke. She remembered how Elphaba just danced like she didn't care, even though she did. "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault! I'm so sorry!"

The blonde ran to her bed and buried her face in her pillows. She couldn't care less about the state of her makeup. She couldn't care less about anything. All she wanted was for her best friend to come back. She wanted Elphaba. But she knew she couldn't have her, and that only made her sob even harder.

Two hours later, once Galinda decided that she had wept enough, she collected herself and walked back towards her balcony. It was such a beautiful evening. The gentle breeze made the branches and leaves dance in a sort of waltz. The moon was beginning to appear in the sky.

The good witch slowly walked back to her closet and grabbed her cloak. She needed some fresh air. She needed to take a walk. A nice walk would clear her head. Twirling the cloak around her shoulders, she hurried outside and conjured up a bubble. She allowed the bubble to float freely in the wind, allowing it to take her wherever it wanted.

* * *

"Mama! Mama! Look what I drew!" Lilli smiled, noticing her mother walk through the front door. Giggling, she ran towards the emerald woman and wrapped her arms tightly around her leg.

Elphaba gave her daughter a tired smile as she lifted her into her arms. "Hi, sweetie. What did you draw?"

Lilli shyly handed her mother a piece of paper. Elphaba smiled as she looked at the stick figures her daughter had drawn.

"It's our family," Lilli smiled. "That me," she pointed to the small stick figure in the middle. "That's Daddy," she pointed to the taller stick figure on the left. "And that's you."

Elphaba smiled when she saw the green stick figure that represented her. "I love it, Lilli. Thank you."

Giggling, Lilli rested her head against her mother's shoulder and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "I love you."

"I love you too, darling," Elphaba whispered, carrying her daughter into the living room.

"Hi, Fae," Fiyero smiled, seeing his wife and daughter enter the kitchen. "I made dinner."

"I could get used to this," Elphaba smiled, setting Lilli down and watched as the young girl struggled to climb into the chair.

"Here, baby," Fiyero smiled, moving to help his daughter.

"I can do it myself," Lilli said stubbornly, trying, yet failing, to push herself up into the seat.

Fiyero stepped back and watched as Lilli finally managed to get into the chair.

"Good job, sweetie," Elphaba smiled, kissing Lilli's forehead.

Lilli smiled proudly at her accomplishment. The family ate their dinner in silence, with the occasional 'yummy yummy' sounds Lilli made and the light chuckle that would escape Elphaba's lips as she wiped the pasta sauce from her daughter's lips.

After the family had their dinner, Elphaba retreated to her bedroom to do some reading. Fiyero helped Lilli down and started to do the dishes. Lilli skipped up to her room and grabbed her paint set.

"Fae?" Fiyero asked, coming into the bedroom.

"Yes?" Elphaba asked, not looking up from her book.

"Have you seen Lilli?"

Elphaba looked up, alarmed. "She's not in her room?"

Fiyero shook his head.

Elphaba jumped out of the bed and bolted towards the door. "Lilli?" she shouted, running around the house looking for her daughter. "LILLI!"

"I'll check outside," Fiyero said, disappearing out the kitchen door.

Tears quickly sprang into Elphaba's eyes. If anything happened to her daughter, she would never forgive herself.

"Thank Oz!" she heard Fiyero exclaim.

Jumping, Elphaba hurried out the kitchen door and found Lilli clasped protectively in her father's arms. She stopped.

"Fae," Fiyero whispered, looking at his wife, wondering how she would react.

"Lilli, what have you done?" Elphaba gasped, slowly stepping closer to her daughter and husband.

The six year old had taken her paint set and painted her face, arms and legs green. Elphaba quickly took Lilli from Fiyero's arm and held her close, tears springing into her eyes once again.

"I just wanted to look like you," Lilli whispered, her voice filled with childlike innocence.

"Why?" the emerald witch asked, slowly pulling back to look at her daughter.

"You're beautiful and I wanted to look like you."

Elphaba stared, wide eyed, at her daughter. She thought her skin was beautiful?

"She's right, Fae," Fiyero whispered, kissing Elphaba's nose.

A single tear slid down Elphaba cheek.

"Mama, why are you crying?" Lilli asked, a worried look crossing her face.

"Mama gets emotional when people call her beautiful," Fiyero chimed.

"Do not," Elphaba argued.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Mama," Lilli said quietly, leaning her head against her mother's shoulder.

Elphaba planted a gentle kiss in her daughter's hair. "You didn't upset me, sweetie. Let's wash this paint off, shall we?"

Nodding sleepily, Lilli allowed her mother to carry her back into the house, closely followed by Fiyero.

After giving her daughter a bath and dressing her for bed, Elphaba retreated back to her bedroom.

Fiyero found her looking at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. "Your skin really is beautiful, Fae."

Elphaba jumped slightly, not hearing Fiyero come in. She smiled as her husband gently wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Yero my hero."

Their moment was interrupted by a knock at the door. "I'll get it," Fiyero said, quickly kissing his wife before running to open the door. Elphaba heard voices from downstairs, but couldn't tell who it was. The door closed and Fiyero returned to the room, looking very serious.

"Yero, what's wrong?" Elphaba asked.

"It was Francine. Apparently, Ozian guards were spotted near the border," Fiyero said.

Elphaba nervously gulped down the lump in her throat. "W-What are they doing here?"

"Nobody knows. She just wanted to tell us to stay extra careful."

Nodding, Elphaba and Fiyero walked to Lilli's room. They found the young girl sitting on the floor, playing with her doll. Sensing someone near, Lilli turned around and smiled at the sight of her parents.

"Mama! Daddy!" she giggled, getting up and running towards them. She stopped, seeing their grave expressions. "What's wrong?"

"Lilli, sweetie," Elphaba said gently. She lifted her daughter into her arms and carried her over to the bed. Sitting down, she settled the young girl into her lap before continuing. "We have something we want to discuss with you."

"What?" Lilli asked, suddenly fearful.

"We are going to have to be more careful from now on," Fiyero said, sitting down on the bed next to his wife.

"Why?"

Fiyero looked at Elphaba, wondering how he should word what he was about to say. "We… I… you see…"

"We just wanted to tell you that… if anything happens to Daddy or me, that you won't tell anyone who you are, or who we are," Elphaba said gently.

Lilli's facial expression told the couple that she had no idea what they were saying, or what was going on.

"What Mama is trying to say is that if we get separated, you have to promise us that you won't tell anyone who we are or our relationship to one another," Fiyero tried.

"But… we're a family. And families stay together," Lilli pouted.

"They do. But sometimes… things happen and… they don't," Elphaba said quietly, stroking her daughter's hair.

Lilli's bottom lip quivered and tears quickly sprang into her eyes. Elphaba quickly held her close and tried to wipe away her tears.

"It's okay, sweetie. Nothing bad is going to happen. We just want to make sure that if something does happen, you know what to do. We just want you to stay safe," Elphaba whispered.

Fiyero sighed. "It's just that… where we come from… Mama isn't liked that much. And we don't want you to get hurt because of…"

Fiyero was cut off by his daughter's loud wails. Both Elphaba and Fiyero tried to comfort their daughter, but to no avail. Thinking quickly, Fiyero hurried over to the bookshelf and grabbed the first book he saw.

"Once upon a time…"

Lilli's sobs slowly died down to an occasional whimper as she looked up at her father.

"There was a beautiful princess with long, golden hair…"

Lilli sat up in her mother's lap as she quietly listened to the story. Elphaba smiled as she gently wrapped her arms around Lilli's tiny waist and kissed her hair.

"And this princess was the most beautiful girl in all the land…"

Fiyero continued to read the story until Lilli fell asleep. Smiling he put the book back and helped Elphaba tuck the slumbering girl in.

"Nothing bad will happen Fae. Nobody knows were alive. We're safe here," Fiyero reassured his wife as they walked back to their room.

"I hope so," Elphaba whispered, climbing into bed next to Fiyero.

Smiling, Fiyero gently pulled the emerald witch closer to him and kissed her forehead. "I promise you, Fae. Everything will be alright."

"You promise?"

"I promise."


End file.
